Fort Wayne forecast 2018.

• Author: Blakeman, Rachel
• Position: Statistical data

The Fort Wayne Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which includes Allen, Whitley and Wells counties, is a legacy manufacturing region, with a strong manufacturing presence now. However, local leaders have been working to diversify the economy for the better part of 30 years.

Currently, local economic development leaders are looking to strengthen these industry clusters: (1)

* Vehicles

* Medical devices and technologies

* Specialty insurance

* Food and beverage processing and production

* Logistics including e-commerce and distribution

* Design and craftsmanship

* Advanced materials

The target clusters are not a comprehensive list of Fort Wayne's employment base. Industries not in the clusters but with significant employment include health care, educational services and defense contracting.

Gross regional product: Making things makes Fort Wayne's economy

Fort Wayne's long history of manufacturing lives on in the gross regional product. Manufacturing is almost 27 percent of Fort Wayne's 2016 private-industry real GDP, up from 20 percent in 2001, according to U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data. (2) In comparison, just over 12 percent of national private-industry real GDP comes from manufacturing. The lion's share of Fort Wayne's manufacturing--almost 80 percent--comes from durable goods. However, about $11.8 billion of Fort Wayne's real GDP is derived from the service side, compared to $4.67 billion in manufacturing.

In terms of real GDP, Fort Wayne's economy grew 0.8 percent in 2016, compared to 1.7 percent growth for all U.S. metros. When compared to other Indiana and Midwestern metros, Fort Wayne's economic performance was in the middle of the pack.

Labor force: Fort Wayne unemployment below state, national rate

It was 2014 when the Fort Wayne MSA last experienced an annual unemployment average above 5 percent. (3) And although the final numbers aren't in yet for 2017, the area can expect to end the year at full employment. Fort Wayne enjoyed an unemployment rate below the national and state averages from January to September 2017 (see Figure 1). (4)

In terms of Fort Wayne's labor force, it has varied from 210,812 in March to July's 216,970. (5) Employment peaked in June and July, with both months at just above 210,100. The number of unemployed ranged from 9,328 in January down to 5,204 in April.

Wages and income: Lagging behind state and nation

A persistent challenge facing Fort Wayne is lower-than-average wages. This is lower than the...